Of course, as Josh Marshall notes, a different McCain tone may also be because the hopped up rhetoric just wasn’t working. In the clips below, McCain also has to tell a supporter who claims he’s “scared” about Obama, that you don’t have to be scared of him and that he’s “a decent person.” Another clip shows a woman saying she can’t trust Obama because he’s “an Arab.” “No Ma’am. No Ma’am,” McCain responds. “He’s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.”

This new rhetoric from John McCain is still at variance with the ads he’s putting out associating Obama with “a terrorist” and questioning his candor and integrity. But good for John McCain for showing decency here. Let’s hope this level of decency migrates to his ads, to his advisors, and to his supporters.